Comunidad

Por Joe Arce:

Olivia Ejuabe was one of 22 people that recently attended an inaugural workshop offered by Guadalupe Center Inc. and El Centro Inc. for homebuyers.

Ejuabe bought her owner-financed house over ten years ago. The house is completely paid off and Ejuabe is in the market for a bigger house. She found the workshop a valuable aid.
“I am trying to get a bigger house. Regarding the loans, we found some things that are very interesting, like we should not go with the first one, but we should investigate things further,” said Ejuabe.

The advice may seem obvious but as the Kansas City area’s Hispanic population continues to grow the need for practical and real advice on homeownership is becoming a mission for many service agencies to combat predatory lending practices and fraud.

“El Centro Inc. and Guadalupe Center Inc. have over the past several months been negotiating the terms of an agreement to bring homeownership services for the entire Kansas City area with ... an emphasis on promoting homeownership among Latino families,” said Ian Batista, president of the Wyandotte County based El Centro Inc.

According to Batista, El Centro’s program has assisted hundreds of families in securing title to their homes since the program started in 1996. Batista noted that homeownership is the biggest asset for many families, allowing them to draw on equity for educational expenses or even starting a business.

“We are quite proud to be able to make this dream a reality for even more families here in the metro area by virtue of this partnership,” Batista said.

“What is really driving this for us is the impact of what we can do with our Latino families,” said Bernardo Ramirez, associate director of Guadalupe Center Inc.

According to Ramirez, another factor in the partnership was pragmatic. ‘They have a proven model and have been doing it for a few years. ... They have the curriculum, the instructors, everything. We thought, why reinvent the wheel? ... We have done some other projects with them but this was an opportunity to formalize a partnership that we knew would make a greater impact for the Latino family.”

The partnership solidifies a mutual strategy for the area’s largest service organizations serving the Hispanic community. In recent years, the explosion of Hispanics in the metropolitan area and more importantly in the outlying areas of Kansas and Missouri has driven leaders to rethink the local aspect of their services.

El Centro Inc. has expanded its traditional Wyandotte County base to Johnson County where at the invitation of business and civic leaders it is working on issues facing the large Hispanic community there. The agency is looking to expand its reach in response to similar overtures from Douglass County residents.

Guadalupe Center has been based on the city’s Westside since its inception in 1919 by a Catholic women’s club offering a volunteer school and clinic for Mexican immigrants. Growing Hispanic concentrations in the Northeast, Independence, and Belton areas has led to requests for services especially in the homeownership area.

“There are providers on the Missouri side that do homeownership counseling, and they are trying to reach out to the Latino community. Latino families like to go through Latino agencies. We see over twenty thousand people in a year’s time,” said Ramirez.
Ramirez added the partnership will allow the agency to expand its reach beyond the urban core to such places as Belton and Grandview but more importantly has added a statewide cast to the organization’s outlook.

“What we are looking at is way beyond the to areas in the Northeast and Belton. We are looking to Joplin and places where there is a lot of potential for growth and we know that really is where the largest influx of growth is going to be.”

Rita Valenciano, COHO member and community activist was elated by the partnership. “I think this is a big deal for our community. The fact that they are working together and they have a partnership agreement bodes well for the spirit of collaboration we have developed in our community.

Jeff Fendorf, vice president of community development for El Centro spoke of the mechanics of the classes. “The class is open to all those interested in purchasing a house. There is no charge for the class. The workbook used in the class is available upon completion of the course for 10 dollars. A credit report is provided on the potential buyer and the cost of 16 dollars is passed on to the attendees.”

The agency uses the Neighborworks America curriculum. Two classes make up the workshop; Introduction to Homeownership, and Closing and Beyond. The workshop runs participants through credit issues, assistance with identifying a lender, looking for a house, dealing with realtors and title companies and details the closing process.

As KCHN has reported in the past month, the desire of homeownership has led many families to consider guaranteed FHA loans. A recent investigation by Federal agencies has found many instances where applicants secured the loan by using false security numbers and other misstated information.

Many homeowners contacted by KCHN alleged that they were encouraged by the lenders to falsify the information. In recent weeks, Federal prosecutors have issued indictments against two individuals.

“I would contend that if those families would have gone through the classes, paid attention and followed the advice and counseling, those situations would have been prevented,” said Batista.

Batista added that the agency is aware of more than 50 families that were caught using false SSN or other information to secure FHA guaranteed mortgages. “They are facing the prospect at the very least of losing their home, but quite possibly, detention or deportation or other sanctions against them.”

“Our program is designed to get education to those consumers ahead of time so that when they go to sign on the dotted line ... or go to commit to purchasing a home or commit to applying for a loan ... that they know exactly what they are getting into,” said Batista.

		Homebuyers classes offered at GCI
		Ian Batista president of El Centro, Inc. at a recent COHO meeting announced a partnership between El Centro and Guadalupe Center, Inc. to bring the agency’s popular homebuyers education program to Kansas City, Missouri residents. According to Rita Valenciano, the partnership is an example of the strenght and collaborative approach of the area’s Hispanic organizations.

		Por Joe Arce: Olivia Ejuabe was one of 22 people that recently attended an inaugural workshop offered by Guadalupe Center Inc. and El Centro Inc. for homebuyers. Ejuabe bought her owner-financed house over ten years ago. The house is completely paid off and Ejuabe is in the market for a bigger house. She found the workshop a valuable aid. “I am trying to get a bigger house. Regarding the loans, we found some things that are very interesting, like we should not go with the first one, but we should investigate things further,” said Ejuabe. The advice may seem obvious but as the Kansas City area’s Hispanic population continues to grow the need for practical and real advice on homeownership is becoming a mission for many service agencies to combat predatory lending practices and fraud. “El Centro Inc. and Guadalupe Center Inc. have over the past several months been negotiating the terms of an agreement to bring homeownership services for the entire Kansas City area with ... an emphasis on promoting homeownership among Latino families,” said Ian Batista, president of the Wyandotte County based El Centro Inc. According to Batista, El Centro’s program has assisted hundreds of families in securing title to their homes since the program started in 1996. Batista noted that homeownership is the biggest asset for many families, allowing them to draw on equity for educational expenses or even starting a business. “We are quite proud to be able to make this dream a reality for even more families here in the metro area by virtue of this partnership,” Batista said. “What is really driving this for us is the impact of what we can do with our Latino families,” said Bernardo Ramirez, associate director of Guadalupe Center Inc. According to Ramirez, another factor in the partnership was pragmatic. ‘They have a proven model and have been doing it for a few years. ... They have the curriculum, the instructors, everything. We thought, why reinvent the wheel? ... We have done some other projects with them but this was an opportunity to formalize a partnership that we knew would make a greater impact for the Latino family.” The partnership solidifies a mutual strategy for the area’s largest service organizations serving the Hispanic community. In recent years, the explosion of Hispanics in the metropolitan area and more importantly in the outlying areas of Kansas and Missouri has driven leaders to rethink the local aspect of their services. El Centro Inc. has expanded its traditional Wyandotte County base to Johnson County where at the invitation of business and civic leaders it is working on issues facing the large Hispanic community there. The agency is looking to expand its reach in response to similar overtures from Douglass County residents. Guadalupe Center has been based on the city’s Westside since its inception in 1919 by a Catholic women’s club offering a volunteer school and clinic for Mexican immigrants. Growing Hispanic concentrations in the Northeast, Independence, and Belton areas has led to requests for services especially in the homeownership area. “There are providers on the Missouri side that do homeownership counseling, and they are trying to reach out to the Latino community. Latino families like to go through Latino agencies. We see over twenty thousand people in a year’s time,” said Ramirez. Ramirez added the partnership will allow the agency to expand its reach beyond the urban core to such places as Belton and Grandview but more importantly has added a statewide cast to the organization’s outlook. “What we are looking at is way beyond the to areas in the Northeast and Belton. We are looking to Joplin and places where there is a lot of potential for growth and we know that really is where the largest influx of growth is going to be.” Rita Valenciano, COHO member and community activist was elated by the partnership. “I think this is a big deal for our community. The fact that they are working together and they have a partnership agreement bodes well for the spirit of collaboration we have developed in our community. Jeff Fendorf, vice president of community development for El Centro spoke of the mechanics of the classes. “The class is open to all those interested in purchasing a house. There is no charge for the class. The workbook used in the class is available upon completion of the course for 10 dollars. A credit report is provided on the potential buyer and the cost of 16 dollars is passed on to the attendees.” The agency uses the Neighborworks America curriculum. Two classes make up the workshop; Introduction to Homeownership, and Closing and Beyond. The workshop runs participants through credit issues, assistance with identifying a lender, looking for a house, dealing with realtors and title companies and details the closing process. As KCHN has reported in the past month, the desire of homeownership has led many families to consider guaranteed FHA loans. A recent investigation by Federal agencies has found many instances where applicants secured the loan by using false security numbers and other misstated information. Many homeowners contacted by KCHN alleged that they were encouraged by the lenders to falsify the information. In recent weeks, Federal prosecutors have issued indictments against two individuals. “I would contend that if those families would have gone through the classes, paid attention and followed the advice and counseling, those situations would have been prevented,” said Batista. Batista added that the agency is aware of more than 50 families that were caught using false SSN or other information to secure FHA guaranteed mortgages. “They are facing the prospect at the very least of losing their home, but quite possibly, detention or deportation or other sanctions against them.” “Our program is designed to get education to those consumers ahead of time so that when they go to sign on the dotted line ... or go to commit to purchasing a home or commit to applying for a loan ... that they know exactly what they are getting into,” said Batista.